A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ENHANCE aCCESSIBILITY TO SCHOLARSHIP LOAN FUNDS FOR TEACHERS, GUIDANCE COUNSELORS, AND COACHES BY CONSOLIDATING tHE fUTURE teACHERS OF North Carolina SCHOLARSHIP LOAN fUND AND THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION – COACHING SCHOLARSHIP LOAN FUND WITH THE PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS SCHOLARSHIP LOAN FUND.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 116‑209.33 reads as rewritten:
"§ 116‑209.33.  Scholarship Loan Fund for Prospective Teachers.
(a)	There is established a revolving fund known as the "Scholarship Loan Fund for Prospective Teachers". The purpose of the Fund is to provide scholarship loans to qualified students who are pursuing college degrees or licensure to become teachers or guidance counselors in the North Carolina public schools and encourage some of those individuals to become coaches or assistant coaches. Scholarship loans shall be available only to students who are enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, in institutions of higher education located in this State that offer programs that prepare students to teach in the public schools or, in the case of scholarship loans for guidance counselors, that offer graduate degrees in counselor education. The State Education Assistance Authority shall administer the Fund.
(b)	The State Education Assistance Authority, in consultation with the  Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges, shall develop criteria for awarding scholarship loans from the Fund. These criteria shall include:
(1)	Measures of academic performance including grade point averages, scores on standardized tests as appropriate, class rank, and recommendations of guidance counselors and principals or faculty and college administrators.
(2)	North Carolina residency. – For purposes of this section, residency shall be determined by the same standard as residency for tuition purposes pursuant to G.S. 116‑143.1.
(3)	The geographic areas or subjects of instruction in which the demand for teachers is greatest, including math, science, special education, and English as a Second Language.
	(4)	Any additional criteria that the State Education Assistance Authority considers necessary to administer the Fund effectively, including the following:
a.	Consideration of the appropriate numbers of minority applicants and applicants from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds to receive scholarships pursuant to this section.
b.	Consideration of the commitment an individual applying to receive funds demonstrates to the profession of teaching.
(c)	The State Education Assistance Authority shall earmark each year up to 25 scholarship loans under this section for new awards to students enrolled in teacher preparation programs that demonstrate a commitment to the profession of coaching. The State Education Assistance Authority may earmark each year up to twenty percent (20%) of the funds available for scholarship loans under this section for awards to applicants for the Teacher Assistant Scholarship Fund established in G.S. 116‑209.35."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 116‑209.34 reads as rewritten:
"§ 116‑209.34.  Fund administered by State Education Assistance Authority; rule‑making authority.
(a)	The State Education Assistance Authority shall establish the terms and conditions for the scholarship loans consistent with the following:
(1)	Each scholarship loan amount shall  not exceed six thousand five hundred dollars ($6,500) per academic  year for a maximum period of four academic years.
(2)	All scholarship loans shall be evidenced by notes made payable to the Authority that bear interest at the rate set by the Authority not to exceed ten percent (10%) per year, beginning 90 days after graduation, or immediately after termination of the scholarship loan, whichever is earlier.
(3)	A scholarship loan shall be terminated upon the recipient's withdrawing from school or a finding by the Authority that the recipient fails to meet the standards set by the Authority. All terminated scholarships shall be regarded as vacant and subject to being awarded to other eligible persons.
(4)	The Authority shall forgive a four‑year loan if, within seven years after graduation, exclusive of any deferment authorized by the Authority on the basis of extenuating circumstances, the recipient teaches for four years at a North Carolina public school or at a school operated by the United States government in North Carolina. The Authority shall also forgive a four‑year loan if, within seven years after graduation, exclusive of any deferment authorized by the Authority on the basis of extenuating circumstances, the recipient teaches for three consecutive years, or for three years interrupted only by an approved leave of absence, at a North Carolina public school that is in a low‑performing school system or a school system on warning status at the time the recipient accepts employment with the local school administrative unit. For loans of less than four years, the Authority shall forgive one year for each year the recipient teaches, within four years of graduation, exclusive of any deferment authorized by the Authority on the basis of extenuating circumstances, at a North Carolina public school or a school operated by the United States government in North Carolina.
(5)	The Authority may forgive or reduce any loan payment if the Authority considers that extenuating circumstances exist that would make teaching or repayment impossible.
(6)	The Authority shall ensure that all repayments, including the accrued interest, are placed in the Fund.
(b)	The State Education Assistance  Authority shall adopt rules to implement G.S. 116‑209.33, 116‑209.34, and 116‑209.35.
(c)	The State Education Assistance Authority shall:  (i) prepare a clear written explanation of the Scholarship Loan Fund for Prospective Teachers and the information regarding the availability and criteria for awarding the scholarships; and (ii) provide that information to the appropriate counselors in each local school system and appropriate administrators in the institutions of higher education in the State and shall charge those counselors and administrators to inform students about the scholarships and to encourage them to apply for the scholarships."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 116‑209.36 and G.S. 116‑209.38 are repealed effective July 1, 2008.
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2008, and applies to all scholarship loans awarded for academic years beginning after July 1, 2008.